Many working individuals have retirement plans in place to support themselves financially when they retire from the workforce. Such plans generally manage and/or invest the employee's assets in order to provide financial security when the employee retires and no longer receives a regular income.
Upon retirement, an individual often still receives at least some income from a variety of sources. For example, many retirees receive income from social security benefits, pensions, and/or annuities. Other income can include investment income, required minimum distributions (RMDs), and/or wages from a part-time job, for instance.
In addition to income sources, a retired individual often has a number of retirement assets accumulated as part of a retirement plan or otherwise. Retirement assets can include various types of individual retirement accounts (IRAs), 401(k) plans, savings accounts, and brokerage accounts, among many others.
The long-term value of a retired individual's retirement asset portfolio can be affected by factors including the manner in which funds are allocated, e.g., which asset classes are used to fund retirement accounts, and the manner in which funds are distributed from the individual's retirement accounts in order to provide for a retired individual's cash flow target during retirement. Tax implications associated with the various retirement assets can also affect an individual's long-term portfolio value.